2,500 attend Easter church service at PCCC

The Rev. Jerry Doss of Abundant Faith Christian Center says he fashions himself as someone who likes to think outside the box.

However, inside a box, literally, is where Doss found himself Sunday during a joint Easter service Abundant Faith and iWorship Center hosted at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

To illustrate the biblical story of Jesus rising from the dead, Doss emerged from a coffin and delivered his Easter sermon. He couldn’t wait to get out, Doss said afterward.

“I told (the Rev. Eric Hansen of iWorship Center) if it gets stuck you got to help me get out of there,” Doss said. “We believe Jesus got up out of the grave. What better way to depict that than to actually come out of the coffin?”

An estimated 2,500 people attended Sunday’s collaborative service — heavily promoted in television and print ads, on social media, billboards and by door hangers — between the two churches.

The crowd filled the main floor and most of the mezzanine level in front of the stage.

Hansen said the turnout exceeded his expectations. Doss added he hopes to make it an annual tradition.

“We were hoping at least the main floor would be filled up,” Hansen said. “When I came out and saw the mezzanine filled, it was really exciting.”

Having church at a different venue had its challenges.

Hansen tripped over a speaker at the beginning of his sermon. He also joked to the crowd he was worried about falling off the stage, which stood more than six feet tall.

Doss said the venue is not what makes the church.

“I always say that the church is not the building, it’s the people,” he said.

Metria Nesbitt of Springfield watched Sunday’s service from the mezzanine with her family. Despite not having a ground-floor seat, she said she enjoyed the service and hoped organizers bring it back next year.